Wild Bill Hagy gets the crowd goingOctober 1979With his signature look and humble backstory, Hagy, a local ice cream truck and cab driver, became a Baltimore sports icon for the way he famously led chants of O-R-I-O-L-E-S during the late '70s and early '80s from the upper deck at Memorial Stadium. When the music was over I threw the ball to the fans in left field. Dempsey was one of the best defensive catchers in the latter half of the 20th century. He hit .206 in 102 at-bats with nine RBIs. He was the new Dodgers GM and I waited in his office at 2 p.m. His secretary told me he was in a meeting and that he would come out and get me when he was done. [1] Dempsey was known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era. John Lowenstein leaves the field a hero, on a stretcherJune 19, 1980There arent many scarier moments on a baseball field than when a player is hit in the head, but Lowenstein -- true to his nature -- was able to provide some levity when he found himself in such a situation. 5. I wanted to be like Earl Weaver. They started chanting we want Dempsey. [21] He then joined the New York Mets organisation, managing the Norfolk Tides in 1997 and 1998. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? I said, "I don't think it's going to work this time.". They quarreled over how to pitch to batters and over virtually any other subject. Rick Dempsey's age is 73. I just wanted to put it behind me and get to my managing career. Storm Davis, John Shelby, and series MVP Rick Dempsey would reach the 1988 World Series, Davis with the Oakland Athletics and Shelby and Dempsey with the Los Angeles Dodgers . After I slid into home plate, Yount came out and took his jersey back. Tonights rain delay in the World Series brings one name to the mind of most baseball fans: Rick Dempsey. "Everyone tells me that," he replied . The competitive side. The Van Nuys Valley News said he was considered a definite Major League catching prospect and the Twins agreed, drafting him in the 15th round of the First-Year Player Draft. Dempsey, a catcher . Two people can say something totally different and it can mean exactly the same thing. On this night, Haller was wearing a microphone as part of his participation in a documentary about umpiring in the Major Leagues. They said they wouldnt pick up my option. Major League Baseball was not easy to break into at that time. Dempsey does tell them stories. And you'll have a blast at the Rick Dempsey Rain-Delay Sliding Puddle. Your email address will not be published. I did another version of it in Milwaukee one night. It proved pivotal in Baltimore eventually securing a 3-1 win. But as with so much art, nothing beats the original. When I first got traded, I met them in Chicago and I didnt start a game for quite a while. . I got along with him really well.. I wasnt sleeping too good, trying to think of ways to get us going. Catcher who won World Series titles with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers during his 24-year career. Camden Chat - Fri, 14 Feb 2014 . Before disappearing into the dugout, Lowenstein reassured them hed be OK by hoisting his torso and both arms airborne in sudden, triumphant fashion. He told me I did a great job. He then got the crowd to sing "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head." They wanted me to stay but they said I wasnt going to play. Combined, the five current and former players who sit on USA Basketball's 15-person board Seimone Augustus, Jennifer Azzi, Harrison Barnes, Sue Bird and Durant have 13 Olympic gold medals, eight FIBA gold medals from World Cups and world championships, and a pile of other honors from their time wearing the red, white and blue. 20; No. But still there was a conflict with Weaver. Then I "hit" the long drive to straightaway center field and started to take the home-run trot. It ended when the second baseman and right fielder pulled up short on a fly ball between them. Whether Murcers presence in the lineup would have made a difference is up for debate since the Orioles won out to claim the title. But I learned how to handle a good staff with Baltimore and ended up being the everyday catcher for 10 years. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. He didn't have a good season, hitting .231/.311/.323 with four homers in 128 games. Only Gene Kelly ever sang and danced better with the water turned on. What made that tarp act even more special was that Sammy Stewart came out and pitched to me, as if he was Jim Palmer, who had given up those two home runs. Then he started telling jokes, and then stories about the big leagues. But Dempsey is also remembered as the man who turned rain delays into interpretive theater. We were childhood friends, and I made him give it to me. Sep 26, 2022 #79 Almonte is entertainingly bad in the field. Santarone would pour a layer of vinegar over the mix and let it set for a few days, then drain it and do the same with oil. Duration: 35s. 2 comments 70% Upvoted This thread is archived New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast Sort by level 1 drexhex 8 years ago See this video for more of Dempsey's rain delay antics 5 level 1 I like our ducks aresef 8 years ago The Orioles won 10-3. "No, really! They packed their guts with pillows to mimic the Hall of Fame duo in absurdist, legendary style. See About archive blog posts. Thats not really me.. The decade wasnt always great, though. Available for purchase from the publisher, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Flashback Friday: Rick Dempseys Rainy Days, Nine Innings: The Anatomy of a Baseball Game. Tommy [Lasorda] had a little heart attack around that time and there was a lot of speculation as to who would replace Tommy. He is 43 now, and trying to remain patient. I saw Sparky a year or two after I did it the first time and said, "I finally did what you wanted to do." Hes still looking for work even though he says that being on the road with a team at any level these days is pretty much out of the question. A nice guy, that Dempsey. People who heard him say he was great. Were not talking about wins and losses so much as were trying to get guys who are supposed to be prospects to start playing the game the way its supposed to be played.. When I was with the New York Yankees before I got traded in 1976, I was in right field, speaking with relief pitcher Sparky Lyle. Dempsey s words proved to be prophetic. Handled pitchers well, loved to slide on wet tarps during rain delays. Nfl Football Players. Sudakis was traded to the Angels after the season. He told me he bought a new plane. It started to rain and everyone left the field and when they covered it up, there was one baseball on the tarp. That decision wasnt final, though. He is remembered for one in particular, when he committed a baserunning gaffe that led to a 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Yankees in August 2003. In the midsts of the downpour two younger doofs decide it would be cool to sit out in the bleachers, in the rain. Not available on OpenTable Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable reservation network. We had a day off in Minnesota and the Yankees were in the same hotel. Theyre just learning.. 7. Not only that, but the teams and Major League Baseball said they didn't want players running around on the tarp because somebody could get hurt and cost someone a lot of money. It was a Catholic high school so the priests helped me a little but with my grades so Id be eligible to play sports. The two tore up the lobby and in the melee Bobby Murcer got hurt and missed the final two games of the season. You might get hurt." In 1995, Dempsey worked as a field reporter for ABC's coverage of the All-Star Game from Texas.'. It was pretty neat because my teammates kept throwing me balls so I could keep tossing them into the grandstand. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images). [3], Dempsey was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 1967 Major League Baseball draft out of Crespi Carmelite High School. In a 24-year career, Dempsey played in 1,765 games, accumulating 1,093 hits in 4,692 at bats for a .233 career batting average along with 96 home runs and 471 runs batted in. Despite all the drama and tension, baseball is fun. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing your memories, Enchanting Sunshine. Guys were telling jokes, kind of ripping on each other and getting loud, recalls Ed Lund, Bakersfields catcher and a St. Francis High graduate, and he just kind of slowly walked back down the aisle and listened. I went to the summer league in 67 and played half a game every other day. 4. People remember those gags during the rain delays, Dempsey says, toweling off in his office after catching in the bullpen. I was dragging three pieces of luggage and a hang up bag across the parking lot. I picked up the ball and didn't throw it because I wanted everyone there to start singing along with the song. Here he is, with the Bakersfield Dodgers, and in his very first season as manager, his is the worst team in the Class-A California League. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window). [18] During his career, Dempsey caught ten different 20-game winning pitchers. Friday, May 22, 2009. But '83 is what it's really all about with Dempsey as a player. They knew that if anyone got in trouble, I was the one who was going to end up paying for the balls. I was in the outfield at Fenway Park on Sunday, throwing baseballs to fans in the stands who were the loudest. One of baseball's great characters and the son of vaudevillians, Rick Dempsey was fond of stuffing towels under his jersey and doing an impression of Babe Ruth during rain delays. I never wanted to be retired; it just worked out that way. Baseball Library dot com has a nice bio piece about Dempsey. Best coffee city in the world? This was Dempsey at the height of his rain delay powers, his one-man show at Fenway Park in 1977 when he pantomimed Babe Ruth, dashed around the tarp-covered diamond and ultimately plunged headfirst into home plate. Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. Dempsey also served as first base coach for the Orioles for several seasons, first as a third base coach in the 2005 season after bench coach Sam Perlozzo was promoted to interim manager. Claire called me a few years ago and asked me if I wanted to do a talk with him at the Oakmont Country Club, Dempsey said. He speaks warmly about memories of attending drive-in movies with his parents and how, in between features, he was consumed with the highlights of Dodger games that were shown on the big screen. He also got in a late September fight with teammate Bill Sudakis, a volatile sort who was also one of New Yorks backup catchers. Sammy had a way of playing with the ball, flipping it with his hand, that added a nice touch. The coaches thought I might run a four-minute mile by the time I was a senior but I said no, I wanted to be a right fielder when I was a junior.. Dempsey has been part of the game for nearly six decades, starting out as a Minnesota farmhand in the late 1960s before embarking on what proved to be a remarkable journey. I went up the line a little and he knocked the living shit out of me. Daniel Okrent describes Dempsey's efforts: Nine Innings: The Anatomy of a Baseball Game, SI Recognizes the Anniversary of Murray's 3,000th hit, Flashback Friday: Rick Dempsey's Rainy Days, Bird Bloggers Taking Shots from Cubbie Loyalists. He appeared in 77 games, hit .251 [42-for-167] with seven homers and 30 RBIs. He played both ends of a doubleheader the next day. He opened 1968 with Wisconsin Rapids of the Class-A Midwest League but was there for 11 games before moving to Auburn of Class-A New York-Penn League. Rick Sutcliffe Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com Rick Sutcliffe Position: Pitcher Bats: Left Throws: Right 6-7 , 215lb (201cm, 97kg) Born: June 21, 1956 (Age: 66-208d) in Independence, MO us More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Cy Young Rookie of the Year 3x All-Star ERA Title 48 43 44 43 40 40 40 [1] He went on for more than an hour, Lund says. I used to go to all the semi-pro games in Los Angeles and they played for a guy who was a scout for the Minnesota Twins, Dempsey said. That was so embarrassing to start one game all season long. Dempsey went on to manage the Mets Triple-A affiliate in the International League in 1997-98 and served as a coach on the Dodgers and Orioles Major League staffs between 1999-2006 before joining Baltimores broadcast team, a position he held until 2020. We got to the World Series and I caught the last pitch and gave him the ball. Yeah, a Rick Dempsey rain delay was a gas, and Wild Bill Hagy was more popular than the mayor, but when the Birds took the field, they never arrived via a fire-spewing UFO that descended from the . Rick Dempseyof the Los Angeles Dodgers attemptsto catch a foul ball at Dodger Stadium circa 1988 in Los angeles,California. The ones that provided levity and laughs, and for those reasons, went on to live forever. I loved everything about him, especially the way he would pick off every would be base-stealer. Had one beat writer from another newspaper threaten to kill him in an elevator at the winter meetings. "Players Swap Memories of Yankees-Orioles 10-Player Trade", "Rick Dempsey Looks Back on his 24 Seasons as a Big League Catcher", 1979 American League Championship Series at Baseball Reference, Rick Dempsey post-season batting statistics, "Rick Dempsey: His Career Survives Fires of Combat", "You're Looking at One for the Ages Here", Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rick_Dempsey&oldid=1132443572, Florida Instructional League Twins players, American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela, World Series Most Valuable Player Award winners, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, September 23,1969,for theMinnesota Twins, September 27,1992,for theBaltimore Orioles, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 8 January 2023, at 22:38. They split the two games and Baltimore won its final two games to win the division. When I was a kid, 'This Week in Baseball' hosted by Mel Allen would occasionally. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2020-2022 BallNine, llc. But instead of doing a Babe Ruth pantomime, I did one of Robin Yount hitting two home runs in the last game of the 1982 season at Memorial Stadium. But whatever, he's Rick Dempsey. Can he keep it up? Attempting to score what wouldve been the tying run, Cust lost his footing not once, but twice, before he was tagged out inches away from the vacated plate, having tumbled face-first down in front of it. Dave Skaggs #8 gets a hand from Eddie Murray #33 and Rick Dempsey #24 during the World Series at Three Rivers Stadium on October 1979 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of his most infamous umpire interactions came in the middle of an eventual 9-3 win over Detroit, when first-base umpire Bill Haller called a balk on Os pitcher Mike Flanagan. Dempsey occasionally must be reminded that he is dealing with a cast of mostly teen-agers. The only other time I did it was at Memorial Stadium in early July 1978. Cal gets a good-luck kissMay 2, 1988When looking back on this one, context is important. Los Angeles, This fabled orchid breeder loves to chat just not about Trader Joes orchids. You can see him out on the field sometimes and you know he just wants to pull his hair out.. The work ethic that was so prevalent during Dempseys playing days remains. Well, there was one baseball left on the tarp, and I said to myself, I'm going to run out there and grab that baseball and get this whole stadium screaming. This is what were going to do, I told him. Which is why such a swing of emotions unfolded when Indians center fielder Brad Komminsk seemed to take a home run away from Ripken Jr. on this September night at Memorial Stadium, only to have his momentum carry him over the center-field wall. [10], The highlight of his career came in 1983, when the Orioles won the American League Eastern Division pennant, then defeated the Chicago White Sox in the 1983 American League Championship Series, before winning the 1983 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. No one ever interviewed me about being the Dodger manager but my name showed up in the L.A. Times about it and that upset someone, so I left the Dodgers. The restaurant will be open year-round on game days and non-game days. Sports Baseball. No, says Dempsey, a Crespi High graduate. We had our share of arguments, too. The image of Dempsey sliding across a soaked tarp to entertain drenched fans is still a legendary one in baseball. Dempsey has been a candidate for managerial openings with the Orioles in the past, as recently as 2003 when the Orioles interviewed him for the spot that eventually went to Lee Mazzilli. Billy Martin, Earl Weaver and Tom Lasorda stories. I didnt even know who the heck he was. At 7 p.m., I was still sitting there. Another sad day came when it became apparent that Dempseys time in Baltimore was over. Dempsey spent 1991 with the Brewers and hit a respectable .231 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 147 at-bats. Dempsey, of course, inherited their genes, and thus went on to stuff towels in his shirt during a 1977 rain delay at Fenway Park, imitating Babe Ruth and sliding across the tarp on his padded stomach. The Business of Baseball: In Praise of Peter Angelos? He started the 1976 season as Munsons backup but was dealt to Baltimore in a blockbuster deal on June 15 that also saw Tippy Martinez, Rudy May, Scott McGregor and Dave Pagan headed to the Os in exchange for Doyle Alexander, Ken Holtzman, Grant Jackson, Jimmy Freeman and Elrod Hendricks. [2] After three and a half seasons with the Yankees, he was acquired along with Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May and Dave Pagan by the Orioles for Ken Holtzman, Doyle Alexander, Elrod Hendricks, Grant Jackson and Jimmy Freeman at the trade deadline on June 15, 1976. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Dempseys play-acting during rain delays are still among my favorite memories of those Orioles years. Yeah, its too early to draw conclusions about anything, but its not too early to feel the optimism already. Im going to catch the last pitch and Im going to give you the ball.. Enberg hosted the pregame show alongside Dempsey (who was still active with Baltimore at the time). Dempsey was a backup plan for New York, then was sent to Baltimore in the big deal of '76. I was the most brutal manager ever for Bakersfield, Dempsey said. He and Billy were a lot alike. What does a successful 2023 look like for the Orioles best hitters? He was an interim manager while playing in Puerto Rico in the early 80s. Whenever I think of Dempsey as a player, two memories come to mind: his rain delay routine and his 1983 World Series MVP. He eventually came out and I said Im sorry Mr. Claire, I never give up on anything, dont make me do it now. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? He felt that he still had the skill behind the plate to guide a pitching staff; it was just a matter of finding the right landing spot. I was able to catch some good pitchers. On his team was a fellow named Mike Dupree. He was mentioned again as a possible candidate for the Baltimore manager's job in 2010, after the firing of Dave Trembley. Gross tubs? I went into the dugout, and everyone was laughing about it. I loved the way he played the game and we became very good friends.. Same deal -- it was a rainy day, and Babe Ruth called his shot. Ask Dupree about Dempseys other side. The all-time greatest punch. In celebration of Palmer's birthday, we present these 22 classic SI photos of No. There isn't a ton to say about Dempsey the player. Pictures of a book signing event at Barnes & Noble in Bel Air featuring former Baltimore . I yelled and screamed and Fred told me we want you to be Rick Dempsey and not Earl Weaver. 3.4K views, 33 likes, 5 loves, 3 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Here's to the Night: Rick Dempsey has officially been dethroned as the king of the rain delay. Rick Dempsey Rain Delay Theater, Part IIOct. Other times, the players do not consider Dempsey to be so great. He called a good game, too, even if not good enough for the headstrong Palmer, who insisted on calling his own, using the signs only as a medium that would guarantee both pitcher and catcher knew what the next pitch was. I had to do it at least once at home. [1] Dempsey led American League catchers twice in fielding percentage, twice in baserunners caught stealing and once in assists. He spent it in the press box with the Bakersfield broadcast team, doing color commentary. Komminsk goes up, over and out of sightSept. iterated elimination of strictly dominated strategies calculator 2023 Orioles vs. projections: Cionel Prez. Then he grabbed a bat and beckoned for a pitcher. While Dempsey made the Major League roster in 1972, he didnt last long, hitting .200 in 25 games before being sent to Tacoma of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, where he would spend the remainder of the season. Watch. You could tell he was in his element. No matter the ball remained secured in Komminsks glove; his body landed outside the field of play, and Ripken was rewarded with a home run all the same. No wonder television wanted him. Daniel Okrent describes Dempseys efforts: He was an intense man, who concentrated mightily on the game. I told him I wished he wouldnt fly, that he was a baseball player. Well, for that I think of him pronouncing Melky Cabreras first name as Milky. Either way, thinking of the guy puts a smile on my face. I got to my room and stuck my key in the door and it didnt open. Powershell Import Ie Favorites To Chrome, Articles R